Marvel's Inhumans Is Coming as a TV Series - But Will Debut in IMAX

Well, this is new. Marvel and ABC have just announced that they'll finally be releasing the long-gestating Inhumans project as a television series—but also sort of as a movie. The first two episodes will premiere in IMAX theaters, basically as a feature film, before the series starts airing exclusively on ABC.

The Inhumans started off as a film project, which was then delayed indefinitely. Many suspected that it would be shelved, especially since Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is heavily featuring storylines related to the MCU's version of Inhumans. But as recently as last week, Kevin Feige said that Inhumans is still coming in Phase 4, but was cagey about whether it would be a TV show or a movie. Now, he's following through on his promise quite literally, as it will essentially be both.

According to the announcement from Marvel, a version of the first two episodes of Inhumans, produced in conjunction with ABC studios and filmed in IMAX, will premiere in movie theaters for two weeks in September 2017. Then, the series will start airing normally on ABC, with the first two episodes including content exclusively for fans who watch the TV version. This will mark the first time a live-action television series has debuted in movie theaters.

"This unprecedented alliance represents a bold, innovative approach to launching great TV content for a worldwide audience," said Ben Sherwood, co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney|ABC Television Group. "It highlights Disney|ABC's unrelenting commitment to finding new and creative ways to showcasing our very best programming and increasing global engagement and reach."

We're not really sure what to make of this. On the one hand, Marvel is always trying to stay ahead of the game, so it's possible that they just thought this was the best way to capitalize on this particular property and break ground at the same time. But on the other hand, they haven't shown much confidence in the property thus far, so this might be a way to hedge their bets. If the movie version isn't terribly successful, then they can justify the effort and expense if it helps drive viewers to their ABC shows, including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's unclear at this point whether it will be a direct spin-off of AOS or will focus more on the royal family, but we'd imagine that it's a mixture of both, since that seems to be the Marvel way now.